It was on April 19 last year when Audi took just about everyone by surprise with the unveiling of an A6 E-Tron concept. It made its official debut at Auto Shanghai as a purely electric liftback on the Premium Platform Electric architecture co-developed with Porsche. Fast forward to March 16, 2022, the stylish showcar from 2021 is spawning a more practical Avant wagon.
Riding on the same PPE platform shared with the upcoming Audi Q6 E-Tron and Porsche Macan, the A6 Avant E-Tron concept is a gorgeous estate with generous dimensions: 4.96 meters (16.3 feet) long, 1.96 meters (6.4 feet) wide, and 1.44 meters (4.7 feet) tall. That makes it just about as big as today’s A6 and A7 models, suggesting the electric liftback and wagon will eventually go on to replace the ICE-powered vehicles. Even though it’s a big wagon, the concept still has an impressively low drag coefficient of only 0.22 for better aerodynamic efficiency to boost range.
As you would expect from a concept car, the electric wagon rides on massive wheels, measuring 22 inches in diameter. The relatively short overhangs are a sign the A6 Avant E-Tron sits on a dedicated EV platform engineered to maximize the wheelbase to enable a spacious interior and a large cargo area. The pretty wagon signals a future design language the German luxury brand will apply to production models with slim matrix LED headlights and a fancy OLED light bar at the back with the Four Rings illuminated.
Audi’s corporate singleframe grille will survive in the EV era but will obviously switch to a close-off design since there’s no combustion engine under the hood that would require extra cooling. Those tiny cameras used to be a concept-only feature not that long ago, but they’ve recently trickled down to production cars in recent years, including for Audi’s own E-Tron large SUV.
At the heart of the A6 Avant E-Tron concept are two electric motors enabling a Quattro all-wheel-drive system with a combined output of 469 hp (350 kW) and a virtually instant torque of 800 Nm (590 lb-ft). The motors feed on a fairly large 100-kWh battery pack mounted between the axles to enable a more than decent WLTP range of 435 miles (700 kilometers).
Audi touts a 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) sprint in less than four seconds for the range-topping version, potentially an RS-badged model to (eventually) supersede the RS6 Avant. Much like the E-Tron GT sedan, the concept benefits from the 800V technology, therefore enabling fast-charging capabilities of up to 270 kW. That translates to 186 miles (300 kilometers) of range in only 10 minutes of charging. As with all future PPE-based cars, the concept has a completely flat floor layout after taking out the bulky transmission tunnel found in conventionally powered vehicles.
The engineers from Ingolstadt have fitted the stunning estate with a sophisticated five-link axle tailored to EVs while at the back there’s a multi-link setup. The concept has been envisioned with standard air suspension, and although interior images have not been released, Audi says the A6 Avant E-Tron concept benefits from a roomy cabin with ample legroom for both front and rear occupants.
The first PPE-based Audi will go on sale in 2023 after entering production later this year at home in Ingolstadt. We’re talking about the Q6 E-Tron, with the A6 liftback and wagon likely coming in the following years.
Source: Audi
